


Keystroke

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: mcsheplets, M/M, Plot What Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-06-27
Updated: 2011-06-27
Packaged: 2017-10-20 19:01:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/216102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Increased stamina came in many forms and over many years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keystroke

**Author's Note:**

> Written for **mcsheplets** prompt #100 How Far We've Come

Looking back over his shoulder, John gave a bitter smile as Rodney ran behind him looking no worse for the long race across the plain towards the Stargate. There was a time when he would be red-faced and panting hard, using what little energy he had left to tell them he couldn't run any further--arrows or no arrows. He was still their slowest team member, but John could bet Rodney could outrun a few of the marines, especially if he dropped the heavy pack he always carried containing all the technical equipment he needed to do his job. Except, asking Rodney to discard his pack would be like asking him to cast off a newborn baby from his arms.

There was still a fair distance to go and the lighter-loaded natives of the planet were gaining ground fast.

Before John could say anything, Ronon was running just behind Rodney, ripping the laptop from its Velcro mount and yelling at Rodney to keep running over the top of Rodney's squawk of alarm.

"I got it, McKay. Run faster!"

Teyla was ahead of them, already slamming her small hands on the DHD's symbols and John saw the Stargate flare into life. He saw Teyla race to the circle and pause beside it, P90 raised and firing, cutting up the ground before the feet of the angry natives and buying the rest of the team the time they needed to traverse the final distance between the DHD and the wormhole. They leaped through together, landing on the gate room floor in an uncomfortable sprawl of bodies and John only released the tension coiled in his muscles as he heard the gate close behind them.

"Get off me you, great oaf! And if you've damaged that laptop I will personally see to it that--"

"It's not damaged," Ronon rumbled, and handed it over as if it truly was a precious newborn. Rodney cradled his laptop, almost crooning to it as he booted it up while still half sprawled on the gate room floor, and John saw him relax as everything came on without a problem.

"If you've finished coddling your laptop, maybe you can get off my legs," John stated almost sourly, secretly enjoying the alarm that widened the eyes.

"Oh! Sorry. Sorry." Rodney crawled away, but not before his knee pressed a little too close to John's groin for comfort.

By now the medics had arrived and Carson was fussing over them all, checking for injuries and not taking it to heart when Rodney brushed his concerns aside.

"Radek!"

Rodney's yell brought Zelenka running, and they strode off together with heads bent over the favored laptop, waving a hand as Carson told him to report to the infirmary immediately. John knew Rodney would go straight there without needing anyone to summon up an escort to drag him out of his lab several hours later. It was another one of those ways in which Rodney had changed over the years, no longer bucking protocols just because he didn't think they were necessary or because he thought his work was more important.

Hours later, John stepped out of his shower and smiled as he watched Rodney thumping pillows to make a good back rest before he balanced his laptop on his thighs and began typing furiously. He barely paused as John slid into the bed beside him and picked up his book from the bedside cabinet.

There was a time when the sight of him padding naked across the bedroom would have had all of Rodney's attention, with the laptop discarded instantly, but they were no longer a couple in the throes of a new romance. They had been friends for six years before adding this new element of intimacy after the demise of DADT and Rodney's engagement to Keller, and in the two years since, they had grown even more comfortable with each other. But John knew the magic was still there.

He rubbed the side of his foot along Rodney's calf, smiling inwardly as he heard those fingers falter on the keyboard. He carried on reading, aware of Rodney glancing across at him in a mix of curiosity and growing arousal, probably putting the contact down to an accidental brush of skin on skin. Still, the way Rodney shifted the laptop for comfort proved he'd had a definite reaction to John's touch. John waited a couple more minutes and then rubbed Rodney's calf again, hearing the soft intake as those fingers faltered once more. They sped up for a moment, tapping the keys a little harder before stopping completely as Rodney closed the lid on the laptop and pushed it onto the lower shelf of his bedside cabinet. John kept his eyes firmly on his book, though he had no idea what he had just read, but he could feel Rodney shifting. From the corner of his eye he saw Rodney dropping the spare back pillows over the side of the bed and turning onto his side to face John. The hand gliding over John's thigh was light enough to send pleasure racing straight to his groin but not enough to ruin that same pleasure by tickling. Carefully, John closed the book and placed it on his cabinet before shifting to mirror Rodney's position.

"Hey," Rodney said softly, his hand ghosting over John's skin from waist to mid thigh, making him shiver with desire.

Some time later, as they lay quietly side-by-side, sated and content, John thought about those _before Rodney_ days when everything was a rushed grab for closeness, and getting off as fast as he could. He never saw it coming and rarely saw any relationship develop beyond sex. He still had those hard and desperate moments occasionally, especially when the desire was strong but time was short, but John far preferred what he had now with Rodney--the slow burn and the soft touches, and the deep, long kisses that took time to bring them both over the edge.

Perhaps it was because they had been friends for so long before they became intimate.

His thoughts returned to the mission, and how much faster and further Rodney could run these days. Perhaps they had both grown in strength both emotionally and physically over the years in Pegasus, he thought, as he realized that Rodney was not the only one who had improved on his stamina in certain areas.

He smiled as he stretched his sated limbs, feeling the burn of a deep and perfect possession. Beside him Rodney was dozing, all loose-limbed and humming contentedly. John summoned the energy to roll onto his side, lean over and kiss his temple, earning another happy sound as Rodney slipped into a peaceful sleep, and with his hand draped possessively over Rodney, John followed moments later.

END


End file.
